Snap fastener



March 25, 1924. v 1,488,450

' J. W. DEWS I V SNAP FASTENER Filed May 16. 1923 Patented ar. 25, 1924.

warren S JOSEPH W. DEIVS, 0F ATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNCE TO SCOVILL I/LANUFAC? TUBING COMPANY, OF WATEBBURY,

NECTICU'I'.

CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION CON- snAr rns'rnnna.

Application filed May 16, 1923. Serial No. 639,345.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH IV. DEWS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wa' terbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain'new and useful Improvement in Snap Fasteners, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to that class of fasteners which comprises a male and a female 7 member, or, as otherwise designated, a stud i 1 the entrance of the head or stud, andit is or head member and a socket member, in which the stud-engaging element in the socket'member is a wire spring which grasps a groove in the stud, the socket being applil cable to' and detachable from the stud only by a tilting movement. I The inventionconsistsof a novel form of stud-engaging spring, and novel featuresin the arrangement of the spring on the base plate of the socket, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 1s a plan new of a corner of a cur:

tain to which the socket member is applied.

and also showing the head or stud in crosssection. plate of the socket with the spring in position. Fig. 3 shows in cross-section the attaching shell and the base plate detached. Fig. i is a cross-section showing the shell and base plate assembled and ready for at tachment to a curtain, the sections in Figs.

3 and 4 being taken in the plane of line 3-4 of Fig. 2. Fig.5 is a perspective view 'of t-he base plate detached. Fig. 6 is a top plan view and Fig. 7 is an elevation .of one form of head or stud of the screw type.

The base plate 1, has a central hole 2 for f also provided with slots 3 and i in its rim to receive the prongs 6 and 5 respectively of the shell or cap 7, the prongs 5 serving as assembly means for the shell and base plate,

and prongs 6 serving as attaching means for setting the socket on a curtaln or other article. The shell is provided -with a central hole 8 through which the tip of the head or stud projects, although, of course, the shell maybe otherwise made, perforate or imperforate, to suit the convenlence of the user.

The base-plate is provided with the para-l lel upturned lugs 9 near one edge and also in the area of the central holesin the shell with the circular portion 12, so that when Fig. 2 is a plan View of thebase 3, which engages the base plate and tends J to space the shell from the base plate suifi-' ciently'to permit of the reaction of the, spring. V

The spring referred: to comprises a on cular portion 12, the ends 13 of. which are tur'nedin towards the center of the-circle and for a portion of their length are paral-' lel and in contact and then diverge'to form the'shoulders 14-WhiQl1 project slightly withand thebase plate, and then are carried the, hole 2, and finally the ends 16 are bent outwardly and back'wardly so as to contact 7 the fastenerstud enters'or leaves thesocket,

these ends function resiliently. By this ar rangement, it is possible to use lighter and more easily formed wire than in those cases where the resilience of the'ends is not utilized. i

The'parall'el portions 13 which are in contact, are engaged by the lugs 9, and these lugs not only serve to hold the ends of the spring together, but they also serve to pre venttherotation'of the spring within the fastener. In other Words, these lugs their engagement Y'with the spring serve as T,

stopsltohold the spring in properposition 'within the socket. The lugs 9' arein'efi'ect the fulcrum where the resilient. action of lugs, a spring ofthe-character herein: illusthe spring begins. 7 In the absence of-such tratediwill j not give equivalent results :unj" less made of wire very much heavier-than it 1s desirable orpracticable toyuse. Thus-"I in the arrangement shown, there 1s a savlng of material in thespring, and asfa. light wire may be used, the spring is; agi'e 1 V the front form or "manufacture. V

The lugsflO aid in supporting shell of the socket as already described ,and

i in additionthey prevent the wire frombeing deformed-by. an openin pullapplied on either side of the socket? ,By' the term eitherside? is meant approximately where the socket circumference would be intersected by a straight line running through in forming the shell.

As will be understood, the socket of this invention is of the type whichcan be opened only by a pull exerted on one side of the socket, and in this particular invention the pullv side is opposite that on which the lugs 9 are placed. If the pull be applied on the lug side, these lugs hold the two wires between them and prevent their expansion under the strain of connecting the fastener members and their disconnection, and they 7 also prevent displacement of the spring within the socket.

Any usual or approved male or stud or head member may be used in connection with the socket member of the character described, but Ihave shown one illustration of the screw-held type of male, stud, or head member in Figs. 6 and 7 and in this illustration 17 is the attaching device in the form of a screw and on this screw is mounted a polygonal portion 18 by means of which the screw may be driven Above the polygonal portion is the conoidal tip 19 and below this tip is a grooveQO which is engaged by the spaced-apart reentrant ends of the spring, and particularly by the shoulders 14 and adjacent parts. 7

As already stated, it is possible to effect engagement of socket and stud in only one way, and tnat'is by bringing these parts into cooperative relation when the socket member is tilted upwardly away from that side on which the word LIFT occurs in Fig. 1. When so correlated the socket member may be pressed down upon the stud and the free reentrant ends of the spring are free to yield for the passage of the tip 19 and then to spring back into the groove 20 and so effect a very secure separable connection with the stud. To disconnect the socket it is tilted V in a direction away from the side on which v the socket member is moved in the same way 7 the wOrdFLIFT occurs. In other words,

to effect eonnection with thestud and disconnection from it.

Variations in details. of construction are allel contact for a portion of their length and then divergent to form stud-engaging shoulders and extending farther within the circular portion in parallel relation and having their tips turned outwardly into contact with the circular outer portion so that when the fastener stud enters or leaves the socket these terminal portions function resiliently. I

2. In a snap fastener socket member, a base plate and a shell, combined with an interposed stud-engaging spring mounted upon the base plate and covered by the shell, said spring having an outer circular portion with reentrant ends in pa allel contact for a portion of their length and then diverging to form stud-engaging shoulders and extend ing farther within the circular portion in parallel relation and having their tips turned outwardly toward the circular portion.

8. In a snap .fastener'socket member,

base plate and a shell, combined with an interposed stud-engaging spring mounted upon the base plate and covered by the shell,

said spring having an outer circular portion with reentrant ends in parallel contact for a portion of their length and then diverging interposed stud-engaging spring mounted upon the base plate and covered by the shell, said spring having an outer circular portion with reentrant ends in parallel contact for a portion of their length and then diverging to form stud-engaging shoulders and extend ing farther within the circular portion in parallel relation and having. their .tips turned outwardly in opposite directions toward the circular portion, said base plate having pairs of upstanding lugs arranged to come within thecircular portion of the spring, onepair of lugs engaging the contacting portions of the spring ends and the other pairarranged opposite the divergent.

portions of such ends, said lugs serving asv I stops for the reentrant ends of the spring and also serving to support the shell above the spring.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of May A. D. 1923.

JOSEPHW. news. Witnesses: r

P. E. FEN'roN, H. B. Rises. 

